All inventive industries are sure by tendencies. Hollywood has its superhero blockbuster. The style world its seasonal wunderkind. Silicon Valley loves a disruptor. Earlier than streaming’s age of extra, status dramas had been all the fashion in tv. More and more, the machinations that assist drive success within the music enterprise—past sheer expertise, in fact—are decided by digital launching pads: a viral TikTok hit, placement on a streaming playlist, or an expertly mapped hype cycle.